About
Mark | Words
from Friends
| Photos
| Video
Dear
Tango Afficionados!
Our
Dear Friend, Mark Celaya, has passed away
at 10:30 AM on Monday Morning,
February 27, 2006
MEMORIAL
MILONGA
TO CELEBRATE MARK'S LIFE
Friday - March 31st,
2006
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
Hollywood
Dance Center
817 N. Highland Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038
FREE
ADMISSION
MUSIC BY CESAR
Watch
the video from the E! Channel special
on Tango with Mark Celaya
Clip provided by Bill Blakeney
About
Mark Celaya:
Mark
Celaya and Joan Yarfitz bring
their unique blend of style, elegance,
and romance to the Argentine Tango, involving
themselves in every aspect: instruction
/ choreography, show production, hosts
of special events, and distribution -
worldwide, of the greatest tango music
ever recorded as well as videos and books.
Together,
their more than 20 years of experience
include producing the first ever tango
show at the Hollywood Bowl ~ "TANGO
MAGIC WEEKEND" (August - 1998), which
sold out all 3 scheduled nights, viewed
by more than 50,000 fans. They also organized
and hosted the spectacular party in Los
Angeles for the cast members of the smash
Broadway hit, "FOREVER TANGO".
They are the organizers and hosts of the
largest, most successful milonga (tango
social) in Southern California history,
which has been the major source of introduction
of the most well-known master instructors
from Argentina to the Los Angeles tango
community.
Mark
and Joan are highly dedicated to the arts,
performing in The North Hollywood Festival
of Performing Arts, The Pierce College
Ethnic Dance Festival, many club and private
party engagements: teaching at supper
clubs throughout Los Angeles, as well
as numerous tango workshops. They have
spent many years studying with more than
thirty master instructors from Argentina,
the mechanics of dance technique and styling,
as well as the tango`s musical intricacy
and rhythmic complexity and incorporate
all into their very original dancing and
teaching styles.
Mark
and Joan have also devoted much of their
time to the youth of Los Angeles, teaching
at North Hollywood High School, coaching
Hamilton High School Dance Theatre Workshop;
and as choreographers of shows for North
Hollywood High School, Providence High
School, and St. Bernard`s Elementary School.
For
more information about Mark Celaya please
visit:
http://www.ClassicTango.com
(Mark's Official Website)
http://MarkCelaya.TangoAfficionado.com
Words
from Friends:
Today
is a sad day for everyone who knew and
loved this elegant and handsome Vietnam
veteran who dedicated a large part of
the last fifteen years to the obsession
of his life: Tango.
He will be sorely missed
by all those who were touched by his engaging
personality and passion, and the happiness
that he brought to all who attended his
classes, his milongas and the many Tango
productions he arranged. The outpouring
of loyalty and love at the last several
fund-raisers for Mark were a testament
to the difference he made in so many people’s
lives, who may have not otherwise have
been touched by the eternal dance. The
So. California Tango community at large
owes Mark a debt of gratitude for helping
put Tango on the map in this corner of
the world.
Although
lately his worsening health had prevented
him from participating more fully in the
community, he fought to the end in the
hopes that he would one day come back
to the dance and the music he loved so
much, and to share with his friends all
the 
joy
that Tango brought into his life. In the
end the suffering and pain were too much
even for this larger-than-life tanguero
with the rugged looks and imposing presence
of a Hollywood leading man.
To my first Tango teacher,
Mark Celaya, so long. We all wish you
many sad and happy tangos in that milonga
in heaven where all deserving tangueros
surely go.
In this hour of grief,
please send your thoughts and prayers
to Mark’s long-time companion Joan
Yarfitz and his niece Bobbi Celaya (both
tangueras in their own right) who lovingly
took care of Mark in his last days. Arrangements
are being made for a service, as well
as a farewell milonga to celebrate Mark’s
life in the very near future (further
information to come).
Alexis
"El Encuentro" and "The
Tango Room"
Dear Mark,
I
have such good memories of you! remember
where we met? Yes! of all places at a
disco! After that first meeting and disco
dancing, we had very interesting conversations
about life, lies and dislikes, and music
of course. And that is when I mentioned
TANGO. You told me you loved the music,
that your mom used to play it when you
were a kid. You were so ready to go and
learn tango already! We had great fun
at the lessons with Miriam and Sandor.
Rememeber
the first exhibiton of the class. Boy,
was that scary! Then I lost track of you
for 2 years. But, as fate would have it,
we met again through a mutual friend Stella
Paolini who was putting on a play. Remember
my surprise when you told me you were
dancing a tango in the play with your
girlfriend? I was so impressed. A few
weeks later you called me telling me your
girlfriend was very sick and could not
dance , would I take her place? I was
so scared. But after weeks of practice
we were ready, and then there we were,
dancing on the stage. Remember how years
later, as seasoned dancers, we laughed
at the videos that we took of thosepractice
days?
Yes,
Mark, my life as a beginner tango dancer
was touched profoundly by your prescence.
We have reminisced about this many times,
especially at the hospital not too long
ago. And when we did I could see that
the fire the Tango had lit in your soul
had not diminished. I will miss you a
lot Mark, but I am willing to bet that
you are already teaching a few angels
in heaven to dance Tango.
Anamaria Menendez
Mark
Celaya is now in peace after a long debilitating
illness. He is now dancing an endless
dance of harmony with the universe.
He will always be remembered for his devoted
involvement in the growth of Argentine
Tango. His endearing smile, his joy of
Argentine Tango, and the gifts he has
given to all of us will always be part
of the music played by our creative DJs
and expressed by the tango dancers.
Cesar and I send our
deepest condolences to Joan, Bobbie, and
Mark's family.
In Sympathy,
Cesar and Patricia of ClubDanzarin
The
thing about Mark that was most special
to me is that he NEVER said anything bad
about anybody… NEVER… Not once…
And what amazing about it is that it was
not a conscious effort on his part to
hold back on negative remarks, (kindda
like one of the ‘golden rules’:
“if you don’t have anything
good to say about the person- say nothing
at all”, which is nice, but not that
amazing of a pattern.) He didn’t
think badly… of anybody… at
least that was the feeling I got…
He projected good… good thoughts,
energy, wishes… Never judgmental,
never condescending, never reproaching…
Only nurturing, appreciative, giving...
kind, respectful, understanding, accepting,
well-intent, and honest. I never told
him this... was never comfortable to...
felt he was too humble for praise... Wish
I did.
Eternity of beautiful memories and thoughts
to you, Mark.
Elena Livshin
Mark
touched my soul and my imagination a few
years ago at Moti's Milonguita. He clearly
stood out amongst the dancers: his elegant,
manly posture, his highly expressive,
somewhat melancholy face, eyebrows slightly
raised, eyes focused somewhere in the
distance. I could not help but wish for
this man -- and this man only -- to ask
me to dance. When he did, there was such
strength and confidence in his embrace,
such respect and care for his partner.
I looked down and saw the most interesting
shoes, orange and black, the shoes of
a true performer. This made me smile and
wonder, what else so original could be
stored in this unique person.
Our
partnership was brief, highlighted by
a wonderful performance. During my friendship
with Mark, he spoke so lovingly about
tango. He taught me many great things
about the dance, and his relationship
with tango seemed to be very honest, pure,
without any unnecessary fantasy. Yet,
when I watched him dance with a beautiful
woman (and all women are beautiful in
tango), he inspired images from great
films or novels. One time I imagined that
this was a sea captain before my eyes
who just stepped ashore from his tired
ship. When Mark was dancing, it was impossible
to look away.
He seemed to be honest yet deep in everything.
He took care of himself very well. One
time he told me about his previous battle
with cancer. "I did not want anyone
to see me then." He also said that
when he could walk, he just walked and
walked the streets, angry at himself for
not being well, and he cried when looking
in the mirror.
Oh Mark, if only I could say goodbye.
I keep wanting to hug you, again and again.
There won't be another Mark and I truly
hope that some way there is a chance to
see him again.
Angelina
I first danced with Mark
Celaya when I had only a few months of
practice under my belt. He was very complimentary
about my dancing even though I almost
knocked him over during a fast-paced sequence
of giros.
The
next time we danced was a year or so later
when The Tango Room presented him with
their Carlos Gardel Award. I ended up
stealing a seat at his table and he was
polite enough to ask me to dance. Remembering
the near mishap of our last Tango experience,
I was quite nervous. We danced a few songs
and afterwards, to my surprise and delight,
he asked me to be his practice partner!
We met once or twice
a week for a few months, and during that
time we developed a friendship. He shared
with me about his previous bout with cancer
explaining that he still had nerve damage
in his feet from the treatments he had
received. He had an unbelievably positive
attitude. When I asked him if the problems
with his feet made it hard for him to
dance, he laughed and said "no",
that in fact it had made it easier because
he couldn't feel the pain! I remember
his words every time I feel like complaining
because my feet are throbbing from too
many hours of dancing in stilettos, or
my toes are bruised by a the mis-steps
of a heavy-footed Tanguero.
A
short while after we began to practice
together, Mark showed me the lump on his
neck. He was trying to cure it through
non-traditional means because he didn't
want to have to go through the kind of
intensely uncomfortable treatments that
he did before. Every time we met we would
do a "lump check", and we were
both convinced that it was getting smaller
week by week. But one day he showed up
to practice and there was something very
different about him--a somber quality
that I had never seen before. And then
he showed me how the lump had grown…That
was the last time I danced with Mark.
The last time I saw Mark
was in the hospital. He told me how moved
he was by the outpouring of love he had
received from the Tango community. Anamaria
had visited him the night before I was
there and he expressed how much it had
meant to him.
I loved Mark for his
deep commitment to excellence and his
sincere love of the art of dance. I will
never forget the way he showed up week
after week for practice even when the
fatigue and pain from his illness were
obviously taking their toll. He wanted
to be a great dancer. It meant something
to his heart. He will always be an example
to me. And I will dance for him.
Jamie Rose
From the first day I
met Mark I was impressed with his passion
and commitment to tango, Thank you, Mark,
for your contribution to tango.
Bill Blakeney
Dear Mark, you were a
close friend since we met in 1990. I will
allways remember you with very special
thoughts. As we allways said to each other..."Amigos
Para Siempre"....
Luba Gousseff and
Vanessa
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On December 11, 2004, Mark Celaya
together with Joan Yarfitz, Michael
Espinoza and Yolanda Rossi, was
honored at the International Tango
Day celebration at "The Tango
Room" for his long and deep
commitment to the growth and health
of Tango in our community and beyond.
International
Tango Day 2004
December 11, 2004
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Video
clip from the Entertainment Channel
segment about Tango with Mark Celaya
and Joan Yarfitz Video provided
by Bill Blakeney.
E!
Entertainment Video
Windows
Media Format
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